VW’s Baby Stroller Brakes Automatically

What began as a joke in a TV ad becomes a real-world prototype.

By Andy Howard / Useful Thinking / September 2015

Volkswagen Netherlands aired a TV ad in April this year, in which VW owners had big expectations for their other possessions. The ad featured a mother who couldn’t understand why baby strollers don’t have automatic braking.

After VW posted the ad on Facebook, the most liked comment suggested that VW build such a stroller. A stroller that could miraculously brake automatically, just like in the ad.

And so VW did. In this film, what began as a joke in a TV ad becomes a real-world prototype in a matter of months. While they were at it, the automaker’s engineers took the opportunity to improve on the idea. They made the stroller smarter, such that it not only brakes automatically but also keeps a distance automatically. This was made possible by including the adaptive cruise control sensor from the current model VW Golf.